Oh No! It's Lunch Time!!!!!!!

So, I'm doing really well with my food choices and eating healthy, but when it comes to lunch I have no idea what to eat. I don't want to have too much carbs, so I skip out on a sandwich; and with cold weather I am not too keen on salads. What I need is a good warm low sodium, low fat, low carb soup. I used to rely on Campbell's Chicken Noodle. Mmm MMM!!! But the sodium content is so high, even in the low sodium cans. 

Anyone have any suggestions for a warm lunch?

Why not make your own soup, then you know exactly how much salt is in it. You can make up a big batch really cheaply then put it into portion sized tubs and freeze them. Then just defrost as and when you need them.

You could do vegetable and barley, chicken and broccolli, bacon and lentil etc etc

a grilled cheese sandwich :) 

stew

pasta with marinara sauce and veggies

beans

chili

I second making your own soup. It doesn't take very long, and you can make enough to eat all week. Or you can freeze individual portions, then heat them up later.

I love chicken noodle soup and make my own frequently. I also make potato vegetable soups frequently - saute onions, garlic, carrots and celery in a little oil til the onions are translucent, then add potatoes and/or sweet potatoes and cover with water or stock (use homemade stock - much less sodium). Add some ham if you like, or toss in some green beans, or some hearty greens (kale, collards) - whatever you like, really. If you want, you can add some milk at the end of the cooking time. To add body to the soup, slightly mash some of the potatoes once they're cooked. To add creaminess to the soup with minimal added fat, make a roux with 1 Tbs flour and 1 Tbs melted butter in a separate saucepan. Add one cup of milk and stir until it thickens (10 minutes or so). Then add that to your soup.

Bean soups are also delicious and easy. I love lentils - they cook faster than shell beans, and have a nice, earthy taste. Rinse and pick through the lentils, again saute onions and garlic, then toss in the lentils and cover with stock or water. Add whatever vegetables and seasonings you like (conventional lore says not to add salt until the lentils are done, but I don't know that this is necessary). Bean soups are similar, they just take longer, as the beans should either be soaked first, or cooked longer.

For seriously quick, seriously easy soups, my favorite recipe is this: Heat one carton (32 ounces) of vegetable or beef stock, one small jar of salsa (no-salt added, by preference), one can of black beans, drained and rinsed, and one can of corn, drained. Add 1 T chili powder, 1 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp black pepper (adjust to taste). If you like a thicker soup, sprinkle 1/4 c cornmeal slowly into the soup, stirring constantly until all of the cornmeal is added. Simmer 10 minutes. You can add cooked chicken if you like. It's high in sodium, so use low-sodium canned goods and stock (or use homemade stock - 4 cups - and frozen corn), but takes maybe 15 minutes total and is very tasty.

Veggie stock is very cheap and very easy to make. Keep a ziploc bag in your freezer and thow vegetable trimmings (like carrot or potato peelings, onion ends, asparagus stems etc) or past-their-prime veggies into it. Once the bag is full, empty the contents into a big pot. Make sure there's at least one onion's worth of onion scraps in there - if not, add an onion. Throw in a bay leaf, parsley if you've got it and some peppercorns, cover with water, and simmer for 30 minutes or so. Strain and portion into freezer containers. Way, way tastier than store-bought veggie stock and practically free. Different veggies will flavor the stock in various ways - corncobs (un-gnawed on, of course!) make a very sweet stock. Mushrooms make a very savory stock. I'd avoid broccoli, cabbage or sprouts unless you're making cabbage soup - the taste is very distinctive and overpowering.

ETA: Milk-based soups don't freeze as well.

Here's one that'll take ya about 5-8 minutes to throw together:

1 med white or sweet potato (cook in microwave), cut up and top with 1/2c black beans (just open can drain and rinse), 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (high protein and tastes like sour cream) and add salt/pepper and other dried herbs as desired (I like cumin).

Don't know if this helps, but chicken nuggets are fairly low in carbs. You could have some type of veggies with them. it may satisfy you a little because you said you get really hungry at that time.

what about tofu? bake it, grill it, just eat it raw, marinate it. I also eat alot of steam veggie packs (100 calories for a huge serving of delicious vegetables) stick it in the microwave for 3-4 minutes~

Original Post by jenhelle:

Don't know if this helps, but chicken nuggets are fairly low in carbs. You could have some type of veggies with them. it may satisfy you a little because you said you get really hungry at that time.

I wonder how on earth chicken nuggets can be a better option than healthy carbohydrates...

This isn't really a low sodium option, but if you don't really have the time to make your own soup the V8 soups taste amazing and are almost as good as homemade. They have only around 100 cal per serving, and contain a full serving of vegetables. They are more of a puree then a brothy soup so I end up feeling a little more satisfied.

Eggs or Egg Beaters make a really satisfying lunch as well with a little bit of laughing cow (or other low cal cheese) and fruit. Or make an omlete with them and fill it with veggies.

or a veggie burger without the bun and a side of veggies (I also sometimes mix the veggie burger into my Egg Beaters)

Wraps are good, just get the low fat ones.  Or, just have one slice of whole grain bread for your sammy.

Or, how about sushi? I have California rolls sometimes, just keep it to 5 or 6 small ones.

I've got some really easy & good homemade soup recipes it you are interested!